Official MLBlog of the Kansas City Royals front office.

Gathright Joining Royals

Well today marked an exciting day for the Royals in the clubhouse and in the front office as new General Manager Dayton Moore made his first trade and acquired the speedy Joey Gathright (he’ll wear No. 26 for KC) from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Royals also obtained second baseman Fernando Cortez and sent left-hander J.P. Howell to the D-Rays.

For those unfamiliar with Gathright, he’s one of the fastest players in Major League Baseball as he has been clocked to run a 6.1 in the 60-yard dash. He is also on record with a 3.3 second time from home to first on a bunt, which is blazing fast! Gathright has struggled a little offensively
this season, hitting .201 (31-for-154) in limited time action for the D-Rays, but he is also 13-for-15 on stolen base attempts. His speed on the basepaths and in the outfield should be fun to watch.

Buddy Bell spoke with the media a couple of hours ago and said his initial plans are to play Gathright in center and move David DeJesus to left field. Buddy did not say where Gathright will bat, but said he would not bat in the leadoff position for now.

As for Cortez, Moore said they will decide what position he will play in the system. He was a ninth round pick in 2001 and voted the International League’s top defensive second baseman by Baseball America in 2005.

It’s probably worth mentioning the Royals also selected one of the fastest players in the draft in Derrick Robinson. The fourth round pick is a switch-hitting outfielder that ran a 6.19 in the 60-yard dash and was committed to play football for the University of Florida.

Gathright is a dreadful baseball player. If you wanted a great pinch runner, you just landed one. He has no idea how to properly play defense and can’t consistently hit. This is supposed to be GOOD news that he’s been added to this mess?

I love this trade. Finally some speed and defense. Emil Brown is dismal in defense, 12 OF errors last year? Ugh. Plus I don’t really mind trading an aging career .254 hitter(Brown) for a young, fast career ~.240 hitter who brings something to the table and can learn from people like Grud and Regg. Great work Moore!

Hooray! No more circus acts in the outfield! Gathright improves not only center but left and right since DeJesus and Sanders won’t have to cover as much in the alleys. And DeJesus over Brown in left…big improvement! If he can hit .270, steal bases and solidify centerfield we will have improved. Good move for Moore!!

I think this trade is going to help the Royals and Gathright because it gives the Royals a speedy centerfielder who can steal close to 100 bases and helps Gathright to get a chance to play everyday and be a threat to other teams in the Majors. Furthermore, I think that these other newly acquired players will help the Royals in the long run and who knows, we may even be playoff bound next year and for more years after that.

In Dayton We Trust…You know what? I’m choosing to, for a refreshing change, unflinchingly accept and endorse the moves of the Royals’ GM. It’s simply time to turn the page, and I want to believe that Moore is the individual to start to turn this thing around. Was it so long ago? A shot to the gap…a full house rising collectively to feel the thrill, anticipation and communal joy…reciprocity between those who bleed blue and those who wear it on a field of green…I’m waiting for the renaissance. Romantic tripe? Sure. But it’s sincere. Welcome to KC, Joey. And welcome to the eternal road trip that is the Omaha Royals during the College World Series, Fernando. Two in a row – I say it’s time for a long overdue winning streak. Go Royals!

This is a great move. You can teach people with great speed how to play defense, doesn’t really work the other way around. Eventually this guy will be a solid leadoff hitter, not that DeJesus isn’t, but I think he would be better suited hitting second or third for the time being.

I think the trade makes sense, Gathright is young, which maintains the “building mode” of this team. I think “lovetoteach7″ is right, this guy needs to play every day. You can teach hitting and defense, you can’t teach speed. And this might just take some running pressure off of DeJesus’s Hammies. I also don’t get where “zevon2k” comes up with the term “dreadful”, what I’ve seen of this guy, he’s not “dreadful”, maybe inexpierienced. Remember, I’m a Royals Fan, I’ve seen “DREADFUL”!
Besides the above, we don’t know what this guys OBP is going to be. Brown didn’t look to be a great find either, but he’s excelled with playing time.

There’s been previous talk that St.Louis wouldn’t mind having Reggie back, is there a trade there?? Maybe package Sanders and Brown in a deal, then bring up an Alex Gordon, or Butler??

Looks like D.M. is building for real though! I like the idea of getting a guy that CAN play in the Majors & a Minor Leaguer, for a guy that needs more seasoning in the Minors.

Time will tell if this move was good. I think that if Baird had made this same move we would all be writing it off, whining about giving up a good pitching prospect. But since it was Moore making this trade it puts a little light on the subject. People didn’t think Willie Wilson or Kenny Lofton were going to hit, and look at the careers they put up! You never know what will happen, but atleast he has the speed to make up for mistakes.

It sounds like Zevon2k has never watched Gathright. This kid isn’t anything close to dreadful. He is just an inexperienced played with great speed and a good upside. Sure he might be struggling from the plate, but its not like he could make the Royals any more of a worse hitting team. Atleast he has a chance at becoming a good hitter, unlike some of our players (BERROA!).

I like the addition of Gathright, I hate that we had to give up Howell though. He was the only pitcher in the Minors that I felt had the chance to be a stud in our future rotation. I guess I’ll have to search through our Minor league rosters for a new pitcher to try and put some hope on. Whatever happened to that Matt Campbell guy that was drafted with Howell? DK

I live in Florida. I have seen Joey Gathright play more than any of you on this board, I assure you. Maddon and the Rays couldn’t wait to get rid of him – they’ve been trying to trade him for months. It’s because he has one fantastic skill – speed – and nothing else to offer. His defensive positioning is dreadful and he gets poor jumps on balls which neutralizes the benefit of his speed defensively. I hope I’m wrong ans a change of scenery does him good, but I haven’t seen a lot of evidence that the Royals are the people to polish up guys with obvious flaws. If he does not improve by leaps and bounds, Gathright will never be a consistent starting caliber player for us.

I think this was a good trade for the Royals in 2006. Of course, time will tell. But having Joey Gathright (JG) in CF reminds me of the Royals’ glory days when Willie Wilson (WW) played CF. It’s definitely not fair to compare JG to WW, but I think JG can be a great threat if he uses his speed more to get on base with bunts and infield hits, and then steal 2nd base. For those old timers out there, like me, my personal opinion is that one of the best set of outfielders that ever played for the Royals included Wilson, Amos Otis and Al Cowens. SPEED and POWER, baby! The Royals just got some speed, now they just need more power. Let’s see if GM Moore will trade for a true home run hitter, like a Jim Thome.

U have to know that if Dayton made the acquisition, it’s a good one. This is the guy who brought up Jeff Francour, Brian McCann, and Kelly Johnson. He said one reason he chose to come to KC over Boston was because of the minor league talent that we have. He also said that we were bringing up our young players too early, and not letting them develop properly. I can see that but who else do we have when everyone is injured. Sell the team Glass!!!!!!!

The owner of the Royals is David Glass. He owns all of the Wal-Marts and he does not know anything about sports. His son, Dan Glass, is also a part of the Royals Organization.
-The General Manager releases and makes trades. Which was Allard Baird. Hopefully I have answered ur question. Ask some more if u need to.

This is my first season of Royals baseball since moving back home to KC after 24 years in the Washington DC area. I love watching baseball at the K, which was Royals stadium when I left. I have been to at least 10 games this year with my 14 year old son who is a serious fan. He keeps score at all the games he attends.

I have always been a huge Royals fan. It began in 8th grade in Math class. I had a radio ear piece in my ear to listen to the Royals first game in 1969. I also worked for the Royals while going to college and I may hit you up for a job when I retire in 2010.

Now that you have hired Dayton Moore to put the Royals on the right track and we understand that you David are going to spend more time with the family businesses, I hope a good chunk of that time means kicking back and enjoying the Royals and the great baseball fans at KC. You know what I miss the most since returning? The warm feeling of seeing the owners wave to the fans at 7th inning stretch from the owners box.

Dave and Dan, please enjoy your team and please show the fans you are having a great time being a Royals fan. If you do, we will wave back and love you too!!

tjstaab, I do share the concern of Gathright being able to get on base BUT you need to check the stats before you talk. Gathright has had 16 plate appearances thus far and has gotton on base 7 for a .467 on-base percentage. Ok very small sample size, but your assertion that hasn’t gotten on base much with the Royals is wrong. Let’s hope he can keep up the pace.

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